Building Strategic Relationships with Other Consultants Chemical Consultants

Building Strategic Relationships with Other Consultants Chemical Consultants Network Charles Dormer 10 th October 2018 Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights

Building Strategic Relationships with Other Consultants - Overview • Client environment changed and is changing • We need innovative business models to meet changing needs – One idea strategic relationships • What do we mean by strategic partnerships? • Reasons for entering partnerships • Managing the relationship • Exiting the relationship Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 2

Client Environment has Changed and is Changing • Unprecedented Change – – VUCA Technology moving very quickly – science fiction changing traditional businesses Big data – new sources of customer data Connectivity • Shifting demographics • Unprecedented access to you and your competition • Pressure on clients to be agile Are you seeing this with your clients? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 3

What have we learned about our clients and their perspective? • • More selective and modular – small well-defined scopes of work Innovative solutions Smaller newcomers – speed and flexibility Co-create with client Connected through platforms Knowledge and Wisdom – Consulting and Coaching Demonstrate ROI Content over process We need Innovative business models to meet changing client needs… Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 4

We need innovative business models to meet changing client needs… • Consulting today require business models that are flexible • One solution is to build strategic relationships with other consultants Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 5 5 5

What do we mean by Strategic Relationships? • Two or more organizations working together to solve a problem • Collaboration – equal power in the relationship • Supplier relationship • Strategic alliance • Joint venture • ? others Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 6 6 6

There is a lot out there about strategic partnerships…… If you Google Strategic partnerships (7 m hits) To put it in perspective – – Leadership 779 m Coaching 449 m Mindfulness 45. 5 m Taylor Swift 73 m Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights – – – – – Benefits 5 m Small Business 3. 6 m Consultants 2. 4 m Coaching 2 m Leadership 7. 3 m Failure 3. 6 m Success stories 4. 3 m ROI 1. 0 m Jobs 8. 6 m 7 7

It can get complicated • • • Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Organizations of different sizes (large and small) Different types of organizations (academia, public and private) Different motivations and agendas Co-creative innovation (creating something new) Nature of the work (innovative, etc. ) Multiple partners Speed of decision making Organizational politics Legal complexity Ability to resolve conflict 8 8

What are some issues and best practices that you can share? • Reasons for entering partnerships • Choosing the right partner • Forming the relationship • Managing the relationship • Exiting the relationship Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 9 9 9

Reasons for Entering Partnership • What are the reasons you entered into a strategic relationship with another consultant or consultant group? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 10 10 10

Reasons for Entering Partnership • What are the reasons you entered into a strategic relationship with another consultant or consultant group? – – – Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Credibility Complementary Expertise Additional Contacts Sharing business risk Opening to new markets Increase capacity Deal with multiple requests from client and change of scope Add diverse and creative thinking (two heads better than one) Access to thought leadership Perceived size of company Brand evolution Opening contracts and opportunities that need additional certifications, etc. 11 11 11

Choosing the Right Partner • How did you identify the right partner and make the decision to work with them? • What were some of the qualities you looked for in a partner? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 12 12 12

Choosing the Right Partner • • How did you identify the right partner and make the decision to work with them? What were some of the qualities you looked for in a partner? – Good fit – usually get a “gut” feeling if you can trust that person – Good communication – Understand their world view – Good fit with potential clients – References from past work – Exploratory discussions including how do they deal with a client in crisis situation? – See examples of their product and assess quality – Due dilligence of company background, etc. – Identify good cultural fit and shared values – IMC-USA Code of Ethics – Set up a trial project so you can see how they really work – Shared thinking, however, sometimes need a different point of view – If relationship is to be truly strategic – need to vet the relationship for 6 months – try them out Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 13 13 13

Forming the Relationship • How did you approach the potential partner and negotiate terms and conditions? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 14 14 14

How did you approach the potential partner and negotiate terms and conditions? – Put something in writing – contract • • Clear scope of work What success looks like Who owns product and IP – intellectual and capital Confidentiality Conflict of interests Terms – who gets paid what and when Termination, etc. – Consider exit strategy – Be clear about the independence of the parties – be willing to lose some control – Be clear about any restrictions on work in the future – Negotiate what each party believes is fair – Be willing to walk away if necessary – Contract on a trial basis (6 -months to 1 Year) – try out relationship on a short term project Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 15 15 15

Managing the Relationship • What are some of the pitfalls you encountered in forming the relationship? • Once the relationship was formed what were some of the best practices you saw that helped to make the relationship successful? • What were the lessons learned when the relationship was not successful? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 16 16 16

My research identified two dimensions…. • Task and Delivery factors • Trust and Relationships Let’s consider those factors……. Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 17 17

Critical Success Factors Task and Delivery Factors “Hardware” (TD) Trust and Relationship Factors “Software” (TR) • • Reasons for entering the alliance (RA) Identification of the right partner (RP) Potential synergies in the collaboration (PS) Driving to outcome and deliverables (DO) Alliance structure, planning and governance (AS) Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights • • Organizational differences (OD) Chemistry between partners (CP) Working together to collaborate (WT) Alliance leadership (AL) Communication and Collaborative Technologies (CT) 18 18

Partnerships and Collaborations can take several forms… 100 75 Trust & Relationship Factors (TR) Unproductive Friendship Transformational Co-Creative Collaboration Fruitless Liasons Transactional Partnership C 0 0 75 Task and Delivery Factors (TD) Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 100

Model – Successful Alliances in Biotechnology Vision Resources and Technology Adaptability Success Trust Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Dormer and Thomas Esseau 2017 Decisionmaking 20 20

The Neuroscience of Trust Employee in high-trust organizations are: – – – – – More productive (50% higher) have more energy at work (106% more) collaborate better with colleagues stay with their employer longer suffer less stress (74% less) happier with their lives (29% more) fewer sick days (13% less) more engaged (76% more) Less burn out (40% less) Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Paul Zak – HBR January. February 2017 21 21

How to Manage for Trust • Recognize excellence – Immediately after goal met – Comes from peers – Tangible, unexpected, personal and public • Induce “challenge stress” – Difficult but achievable – Concrete endpoints – Check in frequently to assess progress and adjust if too easy or out of reach • Give people discretion in how they do their work – Autonomy promotes innovation – Oversight and risk management help minimize negative deviations • Enable job craft – Trust employees to choose projects – People focus energy on what they care about Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Paul Zak – HBR January. February 2017 22 22

How to Manage for Trust • Share information broadly – Uncertainty about company’s direction leads to chronic stress • Intentionally build relationships – Often get message to focus on completing tasks, not on making friends – When people intentionally build social ties at work – performance improves • Facilitate whole person growth – Develop personally as well as professionally – Growth mindset • Show vulnerability – Ask for help – not just telling them to do things Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Paul Zak – HBR January. February 2017 23 23

How to Manage for Trust I would add the following: • Be consistently open and honest in your interactions • Be willing to make commitments and live up to them We have discussed some leadership styles that add to building trust • Be willing to actively listen and learn – have a growth mindset • Be empathetic to others and be self-aware • Be vulnerable and ask for help • Be present and authentic • Be open to giving and receiving feedback Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights Paul Zak – HBR January. February 2017 24 24

Building Trust • What are some of the characteristics you look for in a partner that builds trust? – – – Sharing fresh insights Insight tools (Myers Briggs, etc. ) Anticipate problems No surprises Owning mistakes Delighting the customer Be predictable Active listening Willing to understand others point of view Demonstrate advocacy for others Be a learner Demonstrate trust behaviors (Covey. Speed of trust) Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights • What are some of the ways to build trust? – Communication – face to face at least in the first instance – Live up to commitments and follow-up – Transparency – Give back – Be consistent in actions and product delivery – Give feedback – Re-evaluate relationship regularly – learning – Trust involves taking risk and managing that risk – Manage ego energy – Share values 25 25 25

Effective Leaders in a Co-creative collaborations need to… 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Clearly define and communicate a strategy, purpose and vision for the alliance Assess and select a partner with the right technical expertise, resources and experience Recognize the technical strengths of partners and how they complement each other and are aligned Have the ability to drive outcomes (creativity) going beyond the agreement that benefit partners with growth opportunities Manage the alliance (conflict management, project and alliance management) Build trust in partnership through influencing skills and courageous leadership (team and stakeholders) Create the optimal culture within partnership by understanding and appreciating cultural differences and diversity Manage the team dynamics and create an environment so that everyone can be “in flow” Create a collaboration that can learn from successes and failures, share ideas and be creative Manage communication and collaborative technologies to ensure clarity and understanding and shorten virtual distance between partners (physical and organizational) Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 26 26

Exiting the Relationship • What are best practices you have seen in exiting or terminating the relationship? Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights 27 27 27

For more information please contact Charles Dormer APEX STP, LLC Charles. Dormer@Apexstp. com Website: APEXSTP. com Phone: 484 -942 -6818 Linked. In profile : https: //www. linkedin. com/in/charlesdormer Check out blog - Leadership in the World of Co-Creative, Decentralized Complex Networks (please like) https: //www. linkedin. com/pulse/leadership-world-cocreative-decentralized-complex-networksdormer? trk=mp-author-card Transformative Leadership through Astute Insights